This invention relates to a plectrum, in particular, an improved plectrum that provides, inter alia, a purer tone.
Historically, string instruments such as, inter alia, the guitar, harpsichord, and bouzouki, have been played either by the unassisted hand (fingers) or sometimes with the aid of a plectrum. Moreover, the material used to fabricate these plectrum have evolved towards the use of synthetics for, inter alia, greater quality control in production, enhanced durability in performance, and more contemporaneously for environmental reasons, wherein a durable plastic, such as acetal copolymer, a thermoplastic resin, sold as DuPont™ DELRIN® is quite popular.
Instrument plectrums can change your instrument sound and alter your playing style dramatically; they come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors and are made from numerous materials in varying thicknesses. Although individual playing style affects sound quality, the various attributes of the plectrum also contribute to overall instrument tone.
Plectrum material is an important consideration when shopping for plectrums, as set forth above. Harder materials such as metal and stone provide quicker string attack and volume while adding a bright tone, whereas softer materials like plastics produce less attack and volume with a more natural tone. Stone and metal plectrums do not wear out but are costly, but nylon and plastics wear at different rates, depending on playing style and material quality, but are low in price, moreover popular plastic plectrum materials include celluloid, nylon and other durable plastics.
The shape of an instrument plectrum has more to do with comfort than sound, wherein most plectrums are triangular or teardrop-shaped but differ in size. Depending on material and thickness, larger plectrums are more flexible and easier to hold, while smaller plectrums are less flexible and more challenging to hold. The ability to securely hold a plectrum of any size comes with experience, and experience will also show the different sounds you can make with plectrums of differing sizes.
Additionally, plectrums vary in thicknesses. Stone or metal plectrums are always rigid, regardless of thickness, so the thickness of these plectrums is chosen more for comfort than tone or volume. Plastic and nylon plectrums of thinner sizes bend slightly and deflect after striking the strings. This is called “flutter” or plectrum noise, and wherein desirability is a function of the player's preference. Thinner plectrums also produce less volume because of plectrum deflection, whereas thicker plectrums deflect less and produce less flutter, and produce more volume and string attack.
The edge of the plectrum is an important attribute in string attack. Most triangular plectrums have a main edge that is pointed, with the remaining edges rounded off. Playing with the pointed edge produces a sharp tone with fast string attack, while using the rounded edge produces a softer tone with less string attack. Some specialty plectrums have a serrated edge for special effects, as well as round and pointed edges for standard playing.
Regardless of plectrum material, size, shape, and edge, the player's technique is a contributing factor in creating the desired tone. There are numerous ways to hold a plectrum, which vary greatly from player to player. Some players use different holding and angle techniques for different effects, and although the most common holding method is between the thumb and forefinger, there is no right or wrong way to hold a plectrum. Holding the playing edge of a thinner plectrum close to the fingertips (“choking up”) will lessen plectrum deflection, produce more volume, and increase string attack. Holding a thicker plectrum with a loose and flexible finger grip will produce less volume and attack but increase deflection.
Since the combination of material, thickness, edge, shape, and playing technique produces different instrument sounds, experience and experimentation are key to choosing the right plectrum; however, there is an ongoing need to increase the purity of tone.
Horseshoe crabs are among the world's oldest and most fascinating creatures. The earliest horseshoe crab species had already inhabited Earth at least 200 million years before the dinosaurs arrived or about 400 million years ago. Today, there are four species of horseshoe crabs in the world, but only one is found on North American shores. Limulus polyphemus is found along the western Atlantic and Gulf coasts from southern Maine to the Yucatan Peninsula, with the Delaware Bay as the center of the population, whereas Tachypleus gigas and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda are found in the Indo-Pacific region from the Bay of Bengal to Indonesia and Borneo. Tachypleus tridentatus ranges from the Philippines to the southwestern seas of Japan.
Horseshoe crabs initially molt or shed their outer skeleton (exoskeleton) an average of three or four times a year. Sub-adults (horseshoe crabs that are five to seven years old) appear to molt annually. The animals increase in size by 25-30% with each molt by pumping in water to expand their new shells, which will harden in approximately 24 hours. Males are sexually mature at their sixteenth molt, which is usually their eighth or ninth year. During their final molt, they develop specialized clasping claws for holding the female during reproduction. Females need at least 17 molts, or one more than the males, so they mature in their tenth year or even later and are, on the average, 30% larger than the males. A small percentage of horseshoe crabs continue to molt after reaching sexual maturity.
A mature male ranges from 7-9 inches across the helmet-like prosoma, with an overall length, from head to tail, of 13-16 inches long. Mature females typically are much larger than the males, ranging from 9-12 inches across the widest part of the shell and 16-20 inches long.
Scientists are not sure how long horseshoe crabs live, but some speculate that they can live for 20 to 30 years or more. Because very few horseshoe crabs live to maturity, the ones that do must have a life span that enables them to reproduce for a number of years.
Native American Indians who inhabited our shores many years ago were the first to recognize the importance of the horseshoe crab. They ate the meat found in the opisthosoma, which contains the muscles that move the horseshoe crab's tail and possibly some organs in the prosoma, the front, semicircular part of the horseshoe crab.
They also used the crab's shell to bail water from their canoes and its tail for a spear tip. Indians also discovered that the horseshoe crab is an excellent fertilizer (it is rich in nitrogen, which is gradually released into the soil). Indians taught the early settlers how to fertilize their crops with fish and horseshoe crabs. This knowledge became the base of a strong fertilizer industry in Delaware and New Jersey that lasted into the 1950s.
The earliest reports of harvesting horseshoe crabs date back to colonial times. Farmers in the 1800s continued the practice of using horseshoe crabs for fertilizer. Records show that in the 1870s, over four million crabs were taken each year. They were harvested from the beaches by hand or from the water with the use of pound nets. The crabs were dried and ground up before they were applied to the fields. Even with this harvesting pressure, the population of horseshoe crabs remained at about 1.5 million from the 1880s through the 1920s. But from then on, the population declined steadily with each decade until the 1960s. Because of the decline in the stock and an increase in the demand for chemical fertilizers, harvesting horseshoe crabs for fertilizer ceased in the 1960s.
Besides its use as fertilizer, some farmers also used horseshoe crabs as a cheap source of food for chickens and hogs. However, the crabs gave the meat a “fishy” taste that required weeks of purging on grain to remove.
Today, horseshoe crabs are once again in demand—this time for biomedical research and the production of LAL, and as bait for the eel and whelk fisheries. As a result of these current trends, there is a surplus of exoskeletons therefrom, especially given the frequency of molting, and a need to determine a green policy to utilize the same.